Protect my daughter
by mannd1068
Summary: After the completion of the Shikon no tama, Kagome's mother and grandfather are very concerned with her constantly returning to the feudal era and they enlist the help of one of Tokyo's leading Onmyoji Subaru Sumeragi to seal the well.


A/N: For those of you who don't know anything about X/1999 I will give a little background. According to X/1999, Subaru is one of the strongest Onmyoji currently in Japan which is a Shaman, exorcist or spiritualists. This story takes place a few years after X/1999 and I am going on the premise that both families know each other, but only met Subaru at his sister's funeral a few years earlier, and Souta was to little to remember. I changed the premise that the noh mask is actually from Subaru's family and they have asked Kagome's family to keep it safe. Kagome is 18 and Subaru is 24.

Disclaimer: I do not own either InuYasha or X/1999.

Protect my daughter

Mannd

Kagome's mother wiped her hand on a towel and told her son to stay where he was and went to answer the door. She was not surprised to see the solemn faced young man in front of her. "Mr. Sumeragi, won't you please come in?…" she said as she stood back from the door. "I will get my father."

"Please call me Subaru," the young man said as he walked into the house taking his shoes off at the door and donning a pair of house slippers that he was provided.

They passed into the living room where Souta was busily playing with a play station. His character had just died a horrific death and he was leaning forward to restart the game when his mother interrupted him. "Souta, dear," Souta looked up at her. "Could you please tell your grandfather that Subaru Sumeragi is here and then go up to your room and do your homework."

"But mom…" Souta began.

"I know that you haven't finished that history report." His mother said sternly.

"I wanted to talk to Inu-nii-san," Souta said, "he will be able to give me some great stuff to use…" he trailed off as his mother blanched and looked away. He stared at his mother for a second and then got up and put his play station away turned off the TV and went to find his Grandfather.

His grandfather was in the shrine prayer room, just finishing replacing the oil in the lamps. "Gramps," Souta said. "Mama says to tell you that some one name Sumeragi is here to see you."

His grandfather hastily stood up. He turned and looked at the statue of Buddha and murmured, "Give us wisdom, please give us strength, and Give us Courage." He bowed and then walked out, his confused grandson followed him.

What was going on?' Souta wondered. He went up to his room and pulled out his notes from the last talk he had with InuYasha about his time and began to write on his history report.

Subaru could see that Mama was very nervous. She kept her hands moving, but that didn't stop him from seeing them shaking. He knew nothing of the reason he was there, just that his grandmother had asked him to help out with an old friend and that he needed to be here on this specific date and time. Mama's hands were shaking as she tried to pour him some tea. He had to take the pot out of her hands and pour it himself in order to not wear it. "Please sit down," Subaru pleaded. He had seen her pale at the name Inu-nii-san, and knew that this probably had something to do with this person and her daughter.

Grandfather came into the kitchen and sat down at an empty spot next to his daughter, he immediately began fussing with the cup of tea that was set in front of him. He took a deep breath and looked up at the young Sumeragi. "This is hard." He said his voice cracking and he hastily cleared his throat, "a lot harder than I thought it would be." He said looking back down at his teacup.

"My grandmother told me that you had a story to tell me and no matter what I thought, that the story was completely true." Subaru said soothingly. "I am here to help you in whatever way that I can."

Grandfather looked up and tried to smile and failed. "My granddaughter, Kagome, is a reincarnated Miko who lived five hundred years ago. On her fifteenth birthday she followed her cat into our old well house and disappeared for three days."

Mama's laugh came out like a sob. "The longest three days of my life." She said her hands shakily covering her eyes.

Grandfather placed a hand on his daughter's arm. "Souta kept insisting that a monster had come out of the well and dragged her into it. We just thought that he was in on her running away from home and was making up stories to keep Kagome from getting in trouble." Subaru quietly watched the anguish on their faces. "Souta dragged me into the well house one more time, and I looked down the bottom of the well, and there she was, sitting there." Grandfather took another deep breath. "I was so relieved that she was back home, she threw herself into my arms and told me how scared she had been. She told me about the demon that had dragged her into well and threw her back 500 years into the past. She trembled in my arms…" he trailed off as he looked down at his hands.

"My father and I talked about her story," Mama continued with the narrative her voice sounding hollow. "She said that a jewel had been torn from her side, she even showed us the wound," Mama shuddered slightly, "She told us about our Tree in the yard and said that she had rescued an dog half demon named InuYasha from it. All the fantastic things she told us, but you could see in her eyes her fear," Mama paused again, "and her longing to go back."

"We humored her," Grandfather laughed bitterly, "thought she was lying and that she was hiding something, but we had no proof. I…" He looked up at his daughter, "We decided that maybe I should try and seal up the well. I mean I know that I am not very good at sealing spells, but we thought if we humored her, maybe we could get the truth about where she really had been for three days."

"But during our supper that night," Mama laughed smiling at the memory of the look on her daughter's face, "we received an unusual visitor. The dog demon that she had freed from the tree." Subaru raised an eyebrow at that. "He had beautiful white hair and the cutest puppy ears on his head. He grabbed Kagome's arm and began dragging her out the door." Mama laughed again, "I yelled at him to stop right there, and I did the only thing I could think to do to prove to myself that he was real. I began rubbing his ears."

"This time Kagome disappeared for a few weeks." Grandfather continued. "Apparently she had shattered the jewel, and had to help look for all the shards and put it back together. We thought it was just a game, kind of like hide and seek, but a few weeks later when she came home, we discovered just how serious the situation was." Grandfather paused and took a sip from his tea. "Your Grandmother gave us a sealed box that contained a Noh Mask. We were to guard it from harm and never to open it. After Kagome came home, she had several of the jewel shards with her, and the box with the mask opened by itself attacking me."

"My father was in the hospital for days afterwards," Mama said, "the doctors thought that it was a heart attack, and I stayed the first night by his side. Kagome was here alone with Souta. The mask attacked my daughter; it almost killed her and Souta just to get the few jewel fragments that she had. Kagome led the mask away and sent Souta to get InuYasha, he got there in a nick of time and saved Kagome."

"That was three years ago." Grandfather said turning to look over his shoulder and out the window. Subaru could see an old shack in the yard. "Three years of fear, anguish and pride that my Granddaughter was being part of history of this shrine. She's there now. The jewel was completed six months ago, and she keeps going back to him and that time."

"He is no longer the sweet half demon that he was three years ago." Mama said sadly. "He used the Jewel to make himself a whole demon, he has become mean, vicious, hurtful and has mated with Kagome. He rarely allows her to come and see us, and even then it is usually for only a few hours, before she is dragged back." Mama eyes shined with tears. "Her last visit, I saw the bruises all over her arms and legs. He hits her and…" she trailed off.

"When InuYasha came to get her we made him promise that she could come home today for a few hours since it was for my birthday. He reluctantly agreed and she should be here within the next hour." Grandfather looked back up at Subaru. "We need you to seal the well when she comes back through so that Kagome can't get back and InuYasha can't come forward."

Subaru sat quietly for a few minutes thinking about what he heard. "Your granddaughter has had Miko training has she not?" Subaru asked.

"Some," Grandfather admitted with pride, "we just don't know how strong she actually is."

"And this InuYasha," Subaru paused thinking carefully about what he wanted to ask, "How strong is he?"

"Very…" Mama said quietly, her voice filled with despair.

"Will Kagome fight me to keep me from sealing the well?" Subaru asked.

"Probably…" Mama said as tears slipped down her face. "She loves him, or thinks she does, but she told me that she is terrified of InuYasha and that there are times when she is in fear of her life."

"Then we must plan this well." Subaru said, "Show me the well."

Subaru sighed as he climbed the steps to the old shrine. It had been almost three months since he sealed the well trapping InuYasha in the past and Kagome in the future. He wanted to check and make sure that the seals were holding up and that Kagome hadn't been able to tamper with them. He heard a thunk and looked up as he came to the top of the steps. Kagome stood there holding her bow and arrow aiming at a target. He could tell that her aim was true. He slipped his hand in his pocket and touched the seal spell he had there, just in case she tried to shoot an arrow at him.

He could still see her as her mother held her back as Kagome screamed InuYasha's name. He had even seen InuYasha's yellow eyes looking up at him from the depths of the well about to jump when he put the first spell on the well. Murder was written in his eyes.

"I should be mad at you, you know." Kagome said, not looking at him as she shot another arrow, hitting the target.

"Are you?" Subaru asked as he walked closer to where she was standing.

Kagome lowered the bow and rested her chin on her chest. "Yes, No." She sighed, "I don't know." She raised her head and pulled another arrow out fitting it to the bow and pulling back hit the previous arrow, splitting it in half. "I mean I love…loved InuYasha." She said as she lowered her bow and unstrung it.

"Loved?" He asked curiously as he followed her to a bench beneath an old tree and sat down.

Kagome didn't sit down right away. She looked up at the tree and closing her eyes said. "I can still see him. He looked so peaceful, pinned to the tree." She opened her eyes and looked at Subaru, "He was a little rough around the edges, but I loved him."

Kagome sank down on the bench. "But that was before… before he stole the Jewel from me and made that stupid wish. I thought okay so now he is a whole demon, but that won't change his personality, right?" Subaru sat there quietly knowing she needed to talk this out. "But it did. Drastically. Night and Day difference. I mean before he would call me names and tell me I was useless, but now he would hit me to prove how useless I was. I was so angry, I tried to leave him but he told me if I left he would kill my family and me. I was so scared. I couldn't believe it when he let me go back for visits. But the last time…" she shuddered, "He told me to make my final farewells, because he was going to make sure I never could come back. I think he meant to kill my family and destroy the well on this end." She put her elbows on her knee and put her face in her hands. "It hurts to think that he would do that. He would tell me over and over that he loved me, and then it was like a light was switched off in his mind and he would just get abusive. I didn't know what to do; I didn't know how to stop him. I kept thinking that this was all my fault."

"But it's not all your fault." Subaru said his voice sounding sincere. Kagome raised her head and looked at him, and he could see the tears in her eyes. "Kagome, none of this was your fault. InuYasha changed not you. He hit you, for no reason other than to dominate and belittle you."

"Do you think that he loved me?" Kagome said almost sounding desperate for the answer.

Subaru thought for a minute. "Yes, I think he loved you, but I don't think his demon side knew how to show love and it dominated him and wouldn't let him go."

Kagome thought about this, "I think he loved me too… and I still love him."

"If I unsealed the well, would you go back?" Subaru asked quietly almost fearful of the answer.

Kagome took a long time before she answered him. "No," she whispered.

Subaru stood up and moved in front of her looking down at the dejected Miko. He crouched down so that he was at eye level with her. She looked so sad and lost. "Kagome…"

"I think I am mourning the InuYasha who died when he became a full demon. The man I love is dead, he died on the battle field surrounded by his friends and allies after defeating his enemies." Kagome took a shuddering breath and looked deep into Subaru's eyes. Slowly she leaned forward and touched his cheek. "Thank you for freeing me." She continued to lean forward and Subaru put his arms out to steady her. She pulled him into an embrace and cried her heartache out in his arms.

Subaru left the shrine an hour later. Kagome had bid him a sad farewell and obtained a promise from him that he would stop by in a few weeks. Maybe then he could share his own pain of losing the man he loved, the man he thought of as his best friend and the man who killed his sister.

The end

Constructive criticism is welcome!


End file.
